Valve's Source Engine has been powering the company's games for nearly a decade now, having made its debut all the way back in 2004 with Half-Life 2. While it's done an admirable job in recent years for games like Left 4 Dead, updates and revisions can't mask the fact it's getting a little long in the tooth.

Since Valve's last "generation" of titles (HL2, Left 4 Dead, TF2) made appearances on consoles like the 360 and PS3, could a newer version of Source be on the way soon that's better suited towards the next generation? Or is this just some handy future-proofing for a tool that'll likely still be in use long after the original Source Engine is done and dusted?

And while we're on the subject of speculating, I wonder what games Valve could possibly be working on that would debut alongside a new engine...

We've contacted Valve for comment and clarification, and will update if we hear back.